<strong>WASHINGTON</strong> – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) spoke on the House floor this afternoon calling for his colleagues to override President Trump’s veto of H.J.Res.76, a bill that eliminates Education Secretary Devos’s rule that denies relief to students defrauded by predatory colleges. He voted for the original bill this past January. Click the image below to watch a video of Cicilline’s remarks. A transcript of his speech, as delivered, is embedded at the bottom.

David N. Cicilline
Calls to Override President Trump’s Veto
June 26, 2020

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the resolution to override president’s veto.

In 2016, the Obama Administration issued the Borrower Defense rule in order to provide relief to student borrowers defrauded by predatory for-profit institutions which promised an education and credentials to pursue a career, only to find these credentials did not have the value they were promised.

In the aftermath of the collapse of institutions like Corinthian College and ITT Technical Institute, the Obama Administration sought to provide relief to those students left out in the cold.

The Borrower Defense rule provided a path to relief for those students who only sought to receive an education, but were instead left with nothing but debt and few paths forward.

Sadly, and predictably, the Trump Administration ended these protections, and implement a rule making it harder to obtain relief. Siding with predatory for-profit institutions, rather than the victims, the students and veterans of these wrongdoers.

According to the Institute for College Access and Success, the number of students eligible to seek debt relief or loan forgiveness will drop from 53 percent of borrowers under the Obama era rule to just 3 percent under the Trump rule.

In response, Congress, in a bipartisan way, came together to reject the administration’s rule change, rejecting efforts to leave defrauded students out in the cold. The president vetoed this relief.

Now Congress must once again must stand on the side of those who sought to obtain a higher education and provide a better life for themselves and their families.

I urge adoption of the override resolution, and I yield back.